(Editor's note: University of Providence media release)
GREAT FALLS – The University of Providence volleyball team defeated Montana Western 25-10, 25-13, 28-26 Thursday evening to become the outright Frontier Conference regular-season champion.
This is the first time in program history that the team has won the regular-season championship outright. The team has previously shared the regular-season conference title in 2006, 2009 and 2019.
"I'm so proud of this group," head coach Arunas Duda. "They've faced a ton of adversity this season. They didn't have a fall, had a short preseason, players switching positions, but they didn't complain. They just took it all in stride and got to work. This is such a special team. They deserve this so much."
The Argos (17-2, 17-2) came out strong, winning the first two games relatively quickly.
"They knew what was on the line," Duda said. "They knew what they were playing for. They did a really good job of executing those first two games."
The Bulldogs (3-14, 3-14) never backed down, with the third game going back and forth the entire set. The game was tied 22-22 before the Argos scored two points to make it match point. The Bulldogs responded, however, with two points of their own to even it out at 24. The Argos had a total of five match points in the third set before they were able to secure the victory.
"We seem to make the last set exciting in every match we play," Duda said. "We just had to get out of our own way in that third set a little bit. We had to limit their errors a little bit. Credit to our girls, they came up clutch."
The Argos were efficient offensively. Sadie Lott recorded 18 kills on a .500 hitting percentage while also being active defensively with 10 digs and four blocks. Adysen Burns recorded nine kills in the win, while Ember Schwindt recorded eight on an insane .615 hitting percentage. Cydney Finberg-Roberts directed the offense, recording 38 assists, eight digs and four kills. Defensively, Sacha Legros recorded 27 digs.
Abbey Schwager recorded 27 assists and nine digs for the Bulldogs. Cady Siemion led the team offensively with nine kills, while Tannah Sellers led the team defensively with 13 digs.
The Argos will conclude their regular season on Friday with another game against Montana Western. The match will begin at 7 p.m.
